i have posted before about coating glazed urns inside with roofing tar-to make waterproof.i think you can use the same method for terracotta.you can read about my method at www.cottonarboretum.blogspot.com OR see below: Making glazed pots into FOUNTAINS, and cleaning them Posted by arbo_retum z5 ,WinchstrMA (My Page) on Mon, May 1, 06 at 14:38 SEALING/WATERPROOFING THE POT: We have converted three large chinese red glazed and blue glazed earthenware pots- to fountains. we have plugged up their bottom drainage holes by putting black duct tape underneath the hole, and then from the inside of the pot, filling the hole with 'Bondo'. after the Bondo has dried, we apply a thin opaque coat of roofing tar to the entire inside of the pot, up to the glaze. once that has dried thoroughly, the pot is ready to put in place,fill with water , and insert a pump, which we put on bricks.over the pump's water 'nozzle', we then put a piece of tight-fitting black pvc pipe , cut long enough to make a nice fountain but not too high or low. (this height issue and the water fountain 'look' that you want are what takes all the tweaking.)you may also want to play with various pump sizes. ELECTRICITY: even though electricians don't recommend this, we then plug in the pump to an electrical outlet using outdoor green electrical wire- like you use for outdoor xmas tree light.we don't bother to bury the wire(unless it crosses a path); we put mulch/shredded leaves over it to hide it as needed, and we do not take it up for the winter. the one drawback to this system, where we plug up the hole, is that you can see the electrical wire that hangs outside the pot, but that can sometimes be camouflaged. we use sealed pots for fountains but also for growing waterplants (cannas, elephant ears, water iris, waterlilies). we bring in our pots onto a screened porch but in z.5 they can be turned over and left outside if they are raised up off the ground. CLEANING: the ugly white milky lime deposits we eventually get on the outsides of the pots-i clean in the fall or spring.we tried Lime-Away but it didn't work well. Instead i devised this system: I use XXXX grade-the finest- steel wool dipped in BOILING vinegar(i plug in an electrical fondue pot next to the pots i'm cleaning to keep the vinegar boiling!!)I go over the outside glaze once-gently but firmly, keeping my st.wool very wet w/ the boiling vinegar. then i let the pot dry. if it still has lime, i go over it again and let it dry. then i coat the pot with a thin coat or 2- of butchers wax, buffed with towelling. the pots are placed on columns/pedestals in the gardens. i personally feel every garden needs some form of water. what a difference it makes.our gardens are on a busy main street so we have fountains and waterfalls spread throughout the garden. the sound is soothing and inviting and helps mask the street noise. i hope some of you find this info useful! best, mindy

Hello! First time poster here. Found this thread while doing a Google search on the topic. My girlfriend and I live in Los Angeles county and recently attended a gardening class where the expert advised everyone to avoid terracotta pots. My guess (as mentioned in previous posts here) is that our region is too dry for them. She suggested glazing the pots first if we were to use them. The interesting thing is, we have a combination of pot types (glazed, unglazed, plastic, etc.) and my girlfriend has been watering all of our succulents on the same schedule (once a week). You can actually see the difference in their success (the soil in all of them is exactly the same, from the same mix). The ones in glazed pots are doing fine, but the ones in terracotta aren't doing so well. Here in LA, our climate is generally dry (although this year has been uncharacteristically humid) and we've been experiencing a terrible drought for a while. So, I have to weigh in and agree that region and watering schedule should be considered against the type of pot used. We're considering a trial run of watering our succulents that are in terracotta pots more often than once a week...or perhaps glazing them all, but that would be quite the project!

If you do manage to get the paint off with chemicals, I would suggest you re-seal the outside with some sort of outdoor clear sealer. But only the outside of the pot. Doing that on the inside would leach into whatever you plant in it and probably kill it. That clay doesn't look like it's glazed and it will break down and start to disintegrate outdoors especially after using paint remover on it.

Jessie I use only perlite, since pumice is difficult to get here in Ontario, and I think it is more expensive. Some ppl do not like perlite since it is light and could be floating to top, and get blown away. I work with what I can get without going crazy, lol...and do not find perlite to be problem. I buy it in large bags because I use so much of it. You can shake brand new bag before opening, so dust and smallest particles settle at the bottom. Scoop perlite from top. Eventually, you start getting some dust, so at that point it may be best to sift. I made a large sifters using a screening, about 1.5x2.5' (I have 3, with different size mesh). I can sift more at the same time. Or, I just rinse it using same sifter. I do it usually outside, set the sifter on grass and rinse. That way, I do not have to worry about disposing of dust, just leave it on grass. Obviously, sometimes I have to do it indoors. If one lives in apartment, that could be bit limiting but could be done. I set sifter over plastic bin so all dust falls in. I have sifted many bags over the years...sometimes even grit! BTW, wearing mask protects you from inhaling dust. I use top-dressing of grit (usually larger size than I use for mix), or even pea gravel, so perlite doesn't get blown away. It takes some time for it to travel to the top anyway if you mix ingredients well, and by then - many plants need to be repotted.